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WOC Spa Burglarized

WEST OCEAN CITY –
Maryland State Police (MSP) troopers last week were looking for the suspect or
suspects who broke into a West Ocean City spa and allegedly stole electronics
and a couple of decorative candles.

Last Thursday, an MSP
trooper responded to a Perfect Face day spa on Route 50 in West Ocean City for
a reported burglary. The spa manager told the trooper sometime between 7 p.m.
on Wednesday and 9 a.m. on Thursday, an unknown suspect had entered the
business illegally. Two decorative candles, a portable Magnavox DVD player and
a Kobi five-inch television were missing from the business.

Anyone with information
is urged to call the MSP Berlin barrack at 410-641-3101.

Tag Light Stop Yields
Pot Bust

BERLIN – Two individuals
were arrested on marijuana charges last week after getting pulled over for a
routine traffic stop on Route 50.

Around 1:30 a.m. last
Thursday, a MSP trooper on routine patrol in the area of Route 50 and Gray’s
Corner Rd. observed a Dodge Intrepid with its rear registration light not
properly illuminated. During the traffic stop, a probable cause search was
conducted, which resulted in the discovery of marijuana and smoking devices
inside the vehicle.

The driver, Adhar
Acharya, 28, of Ocean City, and the passenger, Phawan Rai, 23, of Magnolia,
Ariz., were arrested without incident and charged with possession of marijuana
and paraphernalia.

One Year For Dealer

SNOW HILL – A Berlin man
arrested last year after attempting to sell prescription narcotics to an
undercover Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officer pleaded guilty last week
in Circuit Court to distributing controlled dangerous substances and was sentenced
to one year in jail.

In September 2009, the
OCPD concluded a four-month prescription drug distribution investigation with
the arrest of Patrick William Hightower, 42, of Berlin. Hightower was charged
with two counts of felony CDS distribution after he sold prescription
medications to an undercover OCPD narcotics officer.

During the course of the
four-month investigation, Hightower sold drugs to the officer on at least two
occasions. Last week, Hightower pleaded guilty to one CDS distribution charge
and was sentenced to a year in jail.

Laptop Thief Sent Back
To Jail

SNOW HILL – A Berlin man
who received a suspended sentence for stealing a handgun and a laptop computer
in August 2008 was back in Circuit Court last week for a violation of probation
hearing and was sent back to jail for six months.

On Aug. 5, 2008, OCPD
officers responded to the parking lot of the Commander Hotel downtown for a
reported theft from a motor vehicle. Police met with the victim who told them
his car had been broken into and a laptop computer and .22 caliber handgun had
been stolen. The OCPD Forensic Service Unit (FSU) responded to the scene and
processed the vehicle for evidence.

FSU technician Sharon
Shultz recovered several pieces of evidence including a latent fingerprint,
which later turned out to be the crucial component in solving the case and
eventually recovering the stolen computer and handgun. The fingerprint lifted
from the vehicle was analyzed by the Maryland State Police crime lab and was
found to belong to a suspect identified as Justin Carl McCargo, 19, of Berlin.

OCPD investigators then
learned McCargo was being held in the Worcester County Jail on an unrelated
burglary charge. Police questioned McCargo at the jail regarding the theft and
the suspect admitted committing the theft at the Commander parking lot.

McCargo was found guilty
and was sentenced to 18 months in jail, all of which was suspended in favor of
probation. However, on January 1 of this year, McCargo was arrested again on a
disorderly conduct charge, which violated the terms of probation of his 2008
burglary conviction and he was sent back to jail for six months.

Probation Violation Nets
One Year

SNOW HILL – An Ocean
City man, convicted on felony theft charges in September 2008 for his role in a
resort residential break-in and sentenced to six months in jail, was back in
Circuit Court last week for a violation of probation hearing and was sent back
to jail for one year.

In September 2008, Ricky
Bylan, 22, was found guilty of conspiracy to commit felony theft and was
sentenced to 18 months in jail, all of which but six months was suspended in
favor of probation. However, Bylan has since been arrested again, which
violated his probation, and he was sentenced last Friday to a year in jail for
the 2008 incident.

On May 13 of last year,
an OCPD officer on routine patrol noticed a home on North Heron Drive with the
garage door open and the window to the door broken. The officer noticed liquor
bottles strewn across the floor of the garage and an interior door to the
residence standing open. An investigation revealed the house was vacant, but
there was substantial evidence it had been ransacked.

Two 42-inch plasma
televisions, one in the living room and one in the master bedroom, had been
damaged and appeared to have been pulled from their wall mountings. Several
drawers and cabinets throughout the house were left standing open with their
contents strewn about the floor.

An investigation outside
the residence turned up empty liquor bottles and beer bottles lying in the
grass which were consistent with the bottles found in the garage. In addition,
two surfboards were found concealed in a grove of trees across the street from
the residence. A search of the garage revealed empty wall-mounted surfboard
racks.

The officers had plenty
of evidence a robbery had taken place, but they still did not have a suspect. A
further investigation led police to a parked Ford Crown Victoria parked on the
opposite side of the street from the burglarized residence. Inside the vehicle
were several cases of beer and more liquor bottles consistent with what was
found in the garage. Also found in the vehicle was a boogie board with the
victim’s son’s name written on it.

The vehicle was then
impounded so crime scene detectives could further investigate it. Around 11
a.m. the next morning, the car’s owner came to police headquarters to inquire
about the whereabouts of his car, the Crown Victoria impounded at the burglary scene
the night before. He was then arrested and charged with first-, third-, and
fourth-degree burglary as well as numerous counts of theft and malicious
destruction.

However, investigators
knew the suspect had not acted alone and when it came time for his trial in
December, prosecutors entered a plea bargain with the suspect in exchange for
information about his cohorts in the crime. On Jan. 16, the vehicle’s owner sat
down with OCPD detectives and laid out all of the details about the burglary
including the names of his conspirators. The suspect gave investigators the
names of his co-conspirators in the burglary including Bylan.

No New Jail Time

For Newark Burglar

NEWARK – A Newark man,
arrested on burglary charges in March after allegedly breaking into a residence
and stealing computer equipment, pleaded guilty last week in District Court to
conspiracy to commit theft under $1,000 and was sentenced to four months in
jail, most of which was suspended in favor of probation and a fine.

On March 22, the
Worcester County Sheriff’s Office responded to a residence in Newark for a
reported burglary. Upon arrival, deputies learned a residence had been
burglarized and computer equipment had been stolen. The investigation led to a
suspect, later identified as Richard Rusch, 18, of Newark, who was located and
arrested.

Last week in District
Court, Rusch pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit theft and was sentenced to
four months in jail. Three months were then suspended from the sentence and
Rusch was given credit for the 33 days he spent in jail awaiting trial, resulting
in no new jail time. He was also fined $200 and placed on probation for two
years.

Probation For Resisting
Arrest

SNOW HILL – An Ocean
City man arrested in February for allegedly assaulting a resort police officer
during an altercation at an uptown residence pleaded guilty this week in
Circuit Court to resisting arrest and was placed on probation and fined $200.

Around 7:15 p.m. on Feb.
21, an OCPD officer was dispatched to a residence on 142nd Street to
assist with an EMS call for a female who had possibly had a stroke. Emergency
Services staffers evaluated the woman in question, but she refused medical
assistance. While on scene, the OCPD officer encountered a man in the residence
described as very intoxicated who was uncooperative and subject to mood swings,
according to police reports.

While OCPD officers were
evaluating the situation to determine if it was safe for the female victim, the
intoxicated male, identified as Ronald Cantrell, 51, of Ocean City, continued
to complicate the incident. The officers asked Cantrell to go outside with them
and he refused. An officer than noticed a folding pocket knife clipped to Cantrell’s
front pants pocket and took it from him for safety reasons. The officer
attempted to explain to Cantrell he would give the knife back when they left,
but that made him angry.

Cantrell then tried to
walk into the room where another officer was talking with the female victim,
but when the officer attempted to stop him, Cantrell allegedly shoved the
officer aside. The officer then grabbed Cantrell from behind by the shirt and
told him to go back and sit down. According to police reports, Cantrell then came
toward the officer with both hands in front of him and shoved him in the chest.

According to police
reports, Cantrell’s hands slipped down and he grabbed the officer behind his
left knee. When the officer tried to resist, Cantrell allegedly lifted the
officers leg and shoved him backwards, forcing the officer to hop on one foot
to avoid falling until Cantrell had pushed him back about 10 feet into a
kitchen counter. The officer struck Cantrell with a palm slap to the side of
his face, but the strike was ineffective, according to police reports.

When the officer ordered
Cantrell to let go of his leg, he refused, forcing the officer to strike him
three more times in the face with straight punches, according to police
reports. Cantrell allegedly refused to let go of the officer’s leg, forcing
another officer to administer several knee strikes to the suspect’s side. He
eventually let go and was arrested and charged with second-degree assault on an
officer and resisting arrest.

Seat Belt Violation

Leads To Crack Bust

BERLIN – A Pocomoke man
was arrested on crack cocaine charges this week after getting pulled over for
not wearing his seat belt.

Around 9:45 a.m. on
Monday, a Maryland State Police trooper on routine patrol in the area of Routes
113 and 756 in the south end of Worcester County pulled over a Chrysler
Concorde because the driver, identified as Ronnie Lee Schoolfield, of Pocomoke,
was not wearing a seat belt.

According to police
reports, numerous criminal indicators were present during the traffic stop,
which led to a K-9 unit scan of the vehicle. The K-9 scan alerted on the
vehicle, resulting in a full search. During the search, an unknown quantity of
crack cocaine and marijuana was found inside the vehicle. Schoolfield was then
arrested and charged with possession of cocaine and marijuana.

Formal Arson Charges
Filed

SNOW HILL – An Ocean
Pines woman who allegedly set fire to her own house late last month was
formally charged with first- and second-degree arson last week.

Around 1 p.m. on April
26, Ocean Pines Emergency Services were alerted for an ambulance call for a
reported drug overdose. While en route, Ocean Pines emergency services were
advised the occupant of the residence, later identified as Roslyn Smith, 45, of
Ocean Pines, had overdosed on medication and had threatened to burn her house
down.

First-arriving units
from the Ocean Pines Volunteer Fire Company reported heavy smoke and flames
showing from the two-story dwelling. The blaze was quickly extinguished by
firefighters from the Ocean Pines, Showell, Berlin, Bishopville and Ocean City
fire companies. However, firefighters remained on the scene for roughly two
hours.

During the course of the
investigation, it was determined the fire was intentionally set and is
considered an arson. The investigation further revealed Smith was the only
person occupying the residence at the time of the fire, and Fire Marshal’s
Office investigators have determined she was the person responsible for the
intentional setting of the fire.

Downtown Fire
Investigated

OCEAN CITY – The Ocean
City Fire Marshal’s Office this week is investigating a fire at a downtown
apartment building early last Tuesday morning.

Around 3 a.m. on
Tuesday, the Ocean City Fire Department was dispatched to the Colonel Arms
Apartments on Philadelphia Ave. near 6th Street. First-arriving
units observed fire coming from the second floor of the two-story apartment
building. The blaze was quickly extinguished, but fire crews remained on the
scene for about an hour performing overhaul operations.

The initial
investigation revealed the fire originated on a second-floor balcony. Fire
damage was contained to an area on the second-floor balcony with minor overhaul
damage to one apartment unit.

The cause of the fire is
still under investigation. Anyone with information about the fire is urged to
call 410 289-8780 or 1-800-492-7529.